The Prophet used to pray the Zuhr at midday, and the `Asr at a time when the sun was still bright, the Maghrib after sunset (at its stated time) and the `Isha at a variable time. Whenever he saw the people assembled (for `Isha' prayer) he would pray earlier and if the people delayed, he would delay the prayer. And they or the Prophet used to offer the Fajr Prayers when it still dark.

I was present at the gathering of Banu Salamah, and I was the youngest of them.

They (the people) said: Who will ask the Messenger of Allah (saws) for us about Laylat al-Qadr? That was the twenty-first of Ramadan. I went out and said the sunset prayer along with the Messenger of Allah (saws). I then stood at the door of his house.

He passed by me and said: Come in. I entered (the house) and dinner was brought for him. I was prevented from taking food as it was scanty.

When he finished his dinner, he said to me: Give me my shoes. He then stood up and I also stood up with him. He said: Perhaps you have some business with me.

I said: Yes. Some people of Banu Salamah have sent me to you to ask you about Laylat al-Qadr. He asked: Which night: Is it tonight?

I said: Twenty-second. He said: This is the very night. He then withdrew and said: Or the following night, referring to the twenty-third night.

The news of my daily fasting and praying every night throughout the night reached the Prophet. So he sent for me or I met him, and he said, "I have been informed that you fast everyday and pray every night (all the night). Fast (for some days) and give up fasting (for some days); pray and sleep, for your eyes have a right on you, and your body and your family (i.e. wife) have a right on you." I replied, "I have more power than that (fasting)." The Prophet said, "Then fast like the fasts of (the Prophet) David". I said, "How?" He replied, "He used to fast on alternate days, and he used not to flee on meeting the enemy." I said, "From where can I get that chance?" (`Ata' said, "I do not know how the expression of fasting daily throughout the life occurred.") So, the Prophet said, twice, "Whoever fasts daily throughout his life is just as the one who does not fast at all."

(the slave of Asma') During the night of Jam', Asma' got down at Al-Muzdalifa and stood up for (offering) the prayer and offered the prayer for some time and then asked, "O my son! Has the moon set?" I replied in the negative and she again prayed for another period and then asked, "Has the moon set?" I replied, "Yes." So she said that we should set out (for Mina), and we departed and went on till she threw pebbles at the Jamra (Jamrat-Al-`Aqaba) and then she returned to her dwelling place and offered the morning prayer. I asked her, "O you! I think we have come (to Mina) early in the night." She replied, "O my son! Allah's Apostle gave permission to the women to do so."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yazid ibn Ziyad that Abdullah ibn Rafi, the mawla of Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked Abu Hurayra about the time of the prayer. Abu Hurayra said, "Let me tell you. Pray dhuhr when the length of your shadow matches your height, asr when your shadow is twice your height, maghrib when the sun has set, isha in the first third of the night, and subh in the very first light of dawn," i.e. when the dawn has definitely come.

Mu'awiya bin Qurra reported that `Abdullah bin Al-Maghaffal Al-Muzani said, "I saw Allah's Apostle on the day of the Conquest of Mecca, riding his she-camel and reciting Surat-al-Fath (48) or part of Surat-al-Fath. He recited it in a vibrating and pleasant voice. Then Mu'awiya recited as `Abdullah bin Mughaffal had done and said, "Were I not afraid that the people would crowd around me, I would surely recite in a vibrating pleasant voice as Ibn Mughaffal did, imitating the Prophet." I asked Muawiya, "How did he recite in that tone?" He said thrice, "A, A , A."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr ibn Hazm from his father that Abu'l-Baddah ibn Asim ibn Adi told him from his father that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, allowed the camel-herders to spend the night outside of Mina, and they threw the stones (once) on the day of sacrifice, and (once) for the following day and the day after that, and (once) on the day when they left Mina.

`Abdullah bin Mas`ud recited "Haita laka (Come you)," and added, "We recite it as we were taught it."

While I was in the company of `Abdullah bin `Umar on the way to Mecca, he received the news of the severe illness of Safiya bint Abi Ubaid (i.e. his wife), so he proceeded at greater speed, and when the twilight disappeared, he dismounted and offered the Maghrib and `Isha 'prayers together and said, " I saw the Prophet delaying the Maghrib prayer to offer it along with the `Isha' when he was in a hurry on a journey."

Atiyyah ibn Sa'd al-Awfi said: I recited to Abdullah ibn Umar the verse: "It is Allah Who created you in a state of (helplessness) weakness (min da'f)." He said: (Read) min du'f. I recited it to the Messenger of Allah (saws) as you recited it to me, and he gripped me as I gripped you.

That he heard a man reciting a Quranic Verse which he had heard the Prophet reciting in a different way. So he took that man to the Prophet (and told him the story). The Prophet said, "Both of you are reciting in a correct way, so carry on reciting." The Prophet further added, "The nations which were before you were destroyed (by Allah) because they differed."

The Prophet said, "The most superior way of asking for forgiveness from Allah is: 'Allahumma anta Rabbi la ilaha illa anta. Khalaqtani wa ana `Abduka, wa ana 'ala 'ahdika wa Wa'dika mastata'tu abu'u Laka bi ni 'matika wa abu'u Laka bidhanbi; faghfirli fa'innahu la yaghfiru-dh-dhunuba ill a ant a. A'uidhu bika min sharri ma sana'tu.' If somebody recites this invocation during the night, and if he should die then, he will go to Paradise (or he will be from the people of Paradise). And if he recites it in the morning, and if he should die on the same day, he will have the same fate."

Abdullah ibn Dinar said: The sun set when I was with Abdullah ibn Umar. We proceeded, and when we saw that the evening came, we said prayer. He went on travelling until the twilight disappeared and the stars became thick. He then slighted and combined the two prayers. Then he said: I saw the Messenger of Allah (saws); when he hastened his travelling, he would pray like this prayer of mine. He said: He would combine the two prayers after the passing of a part of night. AbuDawud said: This has been transmitted by Asim ibn Muhammad from his brother on the authority of Salim and this has also been narrated by Ibn AbuNajih from Isma'il ibn AbdurRahman ibn Dhuwayb saying that Ibn Umar would combine the two prayers after the disappearance of twilight.

Malik related to me from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar would spend the night between the two trails in the valley of Dhu Tuwa when he was approaching Makka. Then he would pray subh, and after that he would enter Makka by the trail which is at the highest part of Makka. He would never enter Makka, if he was coming for hajj or umra, without doing ghusl beforehand when he was near Makka at Dhu Tuwa, and he would tell whoever was with him to do likewise.

I heard Anas bin Malik telling us about the night when the Prophet was made to travel from the Ka`ba Mosque. Three persons (i.e. angels) came to the Prophet before he was divinely inspired was an Aspostle), while he was sleeping in Al Masjid-ul-Haram. The first (of the three angels) said, "Which of them is he?" The second said, "He is the best of them." That was all that happened then, and he did not see them till they came at another night and he perceived their presence with his heart, for the eyes of the Prophet were closed when he was asleep, but his heart was not asleep (not unconscious). This is characteristic of all the prophets: Their eyes sleep but their hearts do not sleep. Then Gabriel took charge of the Prophet and ascended along with him to the Heaven.

People say that I narrate too many narrations of the Prophet; once I met a man (during the lifetime of the Prophet) and asked him, "Which Sura did Allah's Apostle s recite yesterday in the `Isha' prayer?" He said, "I do not know." I said, "Did you not attend the prayer?" He said, "Yes, (I did)." I said, "I know. He recited such and such Sura."

I heard the Prophet reciting the following Verse on the pulpit: "They will call: O Malik...' and Sufyan said that `Abdullah recited it: 'They will call: O Mali...' (43.77)

(the mother of the faithful believers) I never saw Allah's Apostle offering the night prayer while sitting except in his old age and then he used to recite while sitting and whenever he wanted to bow he would get up and recite thirty or forty verses (while standing) and then bow.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yazid ibn Abdullah ibn al- Hadi from Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Harith at-Taymi from Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman that Abu Said al-Khudri said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to do itikaf in the middle ten days of Ramadan. One year he was doing itikaf and then, when it came to the night of the twenty-first, which was the night before the morning when he would normally have finished his itikaf, he said, 'Whoever has done i'tikaf with me should continue doing itikaf for the last ten days. I saw a certain night and then I was made to forget it. I saw myself prostrating the following morning in water and clay. Look for it in the last ten days, and look for it on the odd days.' "

Abu Said continued, "The sky poured with rain that night and the mosque had a roof (made of palm fronds) and the mosque was soaked. With my own eyes I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, leave with traces of water and clay on his forehead and nose, in the morning after the night of the twenty- first."

That the Prophet said to him, "Recite the Qur'an to me." `Abdullah said, "Shall I recite (the Qur'an) to you while it has been revealed to you?" He said, "I like to hear it from others."

The Prophet said "The most superior way of asking for forgiveness from Allah is: 'Allahumma anta Rabbi la ilaha illa anta, Khalaqtani wa ana `Abduka, wa ana `ala `ahdika wa wa`dika mastata`tu, A`udhu bika min Sharri ma sana`tu, abu'u Laka bini`matika `alaiya, wa abu'u laka bidhanbi faghfir lee fa innahu la yaghfiru adhdhunuba illa anta." The Prophet added. "If somebody recites it during the day with firm faith in it, and dies on the same day before the evening, he will be from the people of Paradise; and if somebody recites it at night with firm faith in it, and dies before the morning, he will be from the people of Paradise."

This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Jarir with the same chain of transmitters and he also recited this (above-mentioned verse) to us, but he did not say that 'Abdullah recited it.

I offered with Allah's Apostle a two rak`at prayer before the Zuhr prayer and two rak`at after the Zuhr prayer, two rak`at after Jumua, Maghrib and `Isha' prayers.

I never saw the Prophet offering any prayer not at its stated time except two; he prayed the Maghrib and the `Isha' together and he offered the morning prayer before its usual time.

When the Messenger of Allah (saws) was travelling and night came on, he said: O earth, my Lord and your Lord is Allah; I seek refuge in Allah from your evil, the evil of what you contain, the evil of what has been created in you, and the evil of what creeps upon you; I seek refuge in Allah from lions, from large black snakes, from other snakes, from scorpions, from the evil of jinn which inhabit a settlement, and from a parent and his offspring.

Ibn Abbas explained the following Qur'anic verse: "O ye who believe! fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you" During the lifetime of the Prophet (saws), when the people offered night prayer, they were asked to abstain from food and drink and (intercourse with) women, they kept fast till the next night. A man betrayed himself and had intercourse with his wife after he had offered the night prayer, and he did not break his fast. So Allah, the Exalted, intended to make it (fasting) easy for those who survived, thus providing a concession and utility. Allah, the Glorified, said: "Allah knoweth what ye used to do secretly among yourselves." By this Allah benefited the people and provided concession and ease to them.

3 Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to join maghrib and isha together when it was urgent to travel."

Abdullah b. Yazid al-Khatmi reported on the authority of Abu Ayyub (Allah be pleased with him) that he prayed the sunset and 'Isha' prayers (together) at Muzdalifa in the company of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) on the occasion of the Farewell Pilgrimage.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Sulayman ibn Yasar that Abdullah ibn Abbas and Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf differed on the question of a wornan who gave birth a few nights after the death of her husband. Abu Salama said, "When she gives birth to the child she is carrying, she is free to marry." Ibn Abbas said, "At the end of two periods." Abu Hurayra came and said, "I am with my nephew", meaning Abu Salama. They sent Kurayb, a mawla of Abdullah ibn Abbas to Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to ask her about it. He came back and told them that she had said that Subaya al-Aslamiya had given birth a few nights after the death of her husband, and she had brought the matter to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he had said, "You are free to marry, so marry whomever you wish."

Malik said, "This is how the people of knowledge here continue to act."

29.31 Widows Remaining in Their Houses until Free to Marry

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Saqd that he had heard that as-Sa'ib ibn Khabbab died, and his wife went to Abdullah ibn Umar and mentioned to him that her husband had died and mentioned some land which they had at Qanah, (a district on the outskirts of Madina), and asked him if it would be alright for her to stay overnight there. He forbade her to do so. So, she went out before dawn from Madina and spent the whole day on their land, but when evening came, she spent the night in her house.

One night the Prophet was unable to sleep and said, "Would that a righteous man from my companions guarded me tonight." Suddenly we heard the clatter of arms, whereupon the Prophet said, "Who is it?" It was said, "I am Sa`d, O Allah's Apostle! I have come to guard you." The Prophet then slept so soundly that we heard him snoring. Abu `Abdullah said: `Aisha said: Bilal said, "Would that I but stayed overnight in a valley with Idhkhir and Jalil (two kinds of grass) around me (i.e., in Mecca)." Then I told that to the Prophet .

If a man saw a dream during the lifetime of the Prophet he would narrate it to the Prophet. Once I wished to see a dream and narrate it to the Prophet I was young, unmarried, and used to sleep in the Mosque during the lifetime of the Prophet. I dreamt that two angels took me and went away with me towards the (Hell) Fire which looked like a well with the inside walls built up, and had two side-walls like those of a well. There I saw some people in it whom I knew. I started saying, "I seek Refuge with Allah from the (Hell) Fire, I seek Refuge with Allah from the (Hell) Fire." Then another angel met the other two and said to me, "Do not be afraid." I narrated my dream to Hafsa who, in her turn, narrated it to the Prophet. He said, "What an excellent man `Abdullah is if he only observes the night prayer." (Salem, a sub-narrator said, "Abdullah used not to sleep at night but very little hence forward."

Allah's Apostle used to pray eleven rak`at at night and that was his night prayer and each of his prostrations lasted for a period enough for one of you to recite fifty verses before Allah's Apostle raised his head. He also used to pray two rak`at (Sunnah) before the (compulsory) Fajr prayer and then lie down on his right side till the Mu'adh-dhin came to him for the prayer.

The Prophet said, "The Adhan pronounced by Bilal should not stop you from taking Suhur, for he pronounces the Adhan at night, so that the one offering the late night prayer (Tahajjud) from among you might hurry up and the sleeping from among you might wake up. It does not mean that dawn or morning has started." Then he (the Prophet) pointed with his fingers and raised them up (towards the sky) and then lowered them (towards the earth) like this (Ibn Mas`ud imitated the gesture of the Prophet). Az-Zuhri gestured with his two index fingers which he put on each other and then stretched them to the right and left. These gestures illustrate the way real dawn appears. It spreads left and right horizontally. The dawn that appears in the high sky and lowers down is not the real dawn) .

The Messenger of Allah (saws) came to us while we were reciting the Qur'an, and there were among us bedouins and the non-Arabs. He said: Recite, all is well. In the near future there will appear people who will straighten it (the Qur'an) as an arrow is straightened. They will recite it quickly and not slowly (or it means that they will get the reward in this world and not in the Hereafter).

The Prophet was the most generous person, and he used to become more so (generous) particularly in the month of Ramadan because Gabriel used to meet him every night of the month of Ramadan till it elapsed. Allah's Apostle used to recite the Qur'an for him. When Gabriel met him, he used to become more generous than the fast wind in doing good.